Share this with

Alcohol abuse is affecting increasing numbers of youngsters, with three children having been treated for alcohol-related liver cirrhosis in the last five years, it’s been disclosed.

The revelation came as a damning Unicef report ranked Britain last for childhood quality of life among industrialised nations.

IS BRITAIN A TERRIBLE PLACE TO BRING UP CHILDREN? TELL US IN THE READER COMMENTS BELOW

According to the UN study, Britain lagged behind 21 economically advanced nations on key measures of poverty and deprivation, health and safety, relationships, risk-taking and young people’s own sense of well-being.

The cirrhosis statistics, revealed by health minister Caroline Flint in a Parliamentary written answer, reinforced fears of alcohol abuse among under-18s.

Professor Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said the figures were ‘very sad’. He predicted ‘big increases’ in the numbers of people diagnosed with cirrhosis in their 20s.

Prof Gilmore added: ‘It’s very unusual to be able to drink enough to produce cirrhosis by the age of 17.’

It typically takes between five and ten years of heavy drinking to cause liver cirrhosis.

The organ is scarred and left unable to filter out alcohol. If the patient does not give up drink, liver failure and death are likely.

Prof Gilmore said: ‘Cirrhosis is not a death sentence but cirrhosis and continuing to drink is virtually a death sentence.’

The number of children admitted to hospital with alcohol-related conditions has risen more than 20 per cent in the past five years.

Twenty youngsters are diagnosed each day with conditions such as alcohol poisoning and behavioural disorders due to excessive drinking, according to NHS figures.